Pet cages are typically a wire or barred cage with a floor. The wires or bars making up the sides of the cage are generally uncovered, because an unobstructed view of the animal is preferred. Although this type of design is advantageous for viewing the pet, it often leads to spillage of debris, food, and even unsanitary animal waste, as these substances are likely to pass through the bars or wires making up the sides of the cage. This creates a continuing duty on the part of the pet owner to clean the floors or walls of the area of the home where the cage is placed.
One proposed prior art solution to this problem in the context of bird cages appears in U.S. Pat. No. 1,094,423 to Brandt, which generally teaches a fabric netting structure which attaches to a bird cage by a hook or the like, and which hangs loosely under the cage. Litter expelled from the cage is meant to be caught by the fabric underhanging the cage. This type of cage attachment has the disadvantage of being difficult to remove, difficult to clean, and is prone to accidental spillage. The accidental spillage can occur during cleaning, or debris might escape from the sides of the cage, missing the hanging attachment.
Another proposed solution has been a rectangular attachment which wraps around or envelops the sides of a cage, and is held in place by Velcro or elastic. This design fails to fully solve the problem of debris being ejected from the cage and into the home environment, however, as there is a gap between the bottom and side of the cage allowing for leakage of debris, particularly liquids.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved cage guard which minimizes or prevents unwanted matter from being dispelled from a pet cage.